Category: Employee Labor Laws

Today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that will bring the minimum wage in New York State up to $15 an hour over the course of the next few years, and also provide the most comprehensive paid family leave in the country. The family leave policy, which will phase in starting in 2018, will eventually provide for 12 weeks of paid family leave, capped at 67 percent of the statewide average weekly wage.

Snow days aren't as much fun for adults as they are for kids, especially if you're not quite sure what inclement weather means for your paycheck. In this week's roundup, we look at who gets paid during snow days and other days off due to inclement weather, plus how to protect yourself from age discrimination on your resume and what to do right after a networking event.

Some of the legal decisions that were made in 2015 didn't do much to help workers. For example, Wisconsin was added to the list of Right-to-Work states this year. Many feel that these laws, which change how unions collect fees from the workers they represent, hurt unions and the middle class. In other disappointing news, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the Integrity Staffing Solutions vs. Busk case, mandating that companies are not required to compensate workers for the time they spend in security-screening at the end of their shifts – or for any task that's not an "integral and indispensable" part of their job, for that matter. But thankfully, the legal news for workers wasn't all bad this past year. So, let's focus on the good, shall we?

Most of the time, lunch doesn't really feel like that big of a deal. If we're able to take a lunch break, we generally feel glad, and enjoy a short respite from the craziness of the workday. Often though, we lunch at our desks, or on our feet, unable to take the time to sit down and eat, even just for a few minutes. Still though, what does it really matter? Well, here are a few surprising facts about lunch breaks that might inspire you to pay a little more attention to how you spend this time.

Last week, Gawker reported that URBN, the Philadelphia-based company that owns Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People, sent out a memo asking salaried workers to volunteer their weekend time, unpacking boxes during the October rush. But don't worry: the memo made it clear that this was a "team-building activity." Furthermore, lunch would be provided.

Once upon a time, there was a hardworking employee named Jane Doe. Jane's employer had given her so much work, Jane had to work overtime to complete all her tasks. Jane diligently completed her work, putting in the required overtime hours to do so. Then, Jane requested overtime pay from her employer. She assumed that there would be no problem getting paid. But, to Jane's surprise, her employer refused to pay overtime, claiming that without prior approval, they did not have to pay Jane for the extra hours.

Earlier this year, PayScale told the story of A. K. Verma, an Indian civil servant who managed to avoid coming to work for 24 years before eventually getting fired for "willful absence of duty" in January 2015. Though his case, a byproduct of India's tough-to-penetrate labor laws, is shocking, Verma is not the only employee who has been paid to do nothing. Plenty of workers have found themselves in situations in which they are paid not to work.

Football's most famous fans may finally be getting a voice. After years of NFL cheerleaders enduring embarrassingly low pay and overall poor treatment, working conditions seem to be improving. As a recent New York Times article noted, "The cultural dial is turning." So, what exactly is changing, and why?

The purpose of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is to help employees balance work and personal or medical needs. It was passed in 1993 during the Clinton administration as a way to protect the jobs of workers who needed to take time off to care for themselves or family members, including babies. (The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that does not offer paid maternity leave.) Workers who are contemplating taking leave often find themselves confused about what the FMLA does and doesn't cover. Here's what you need to know.

Lately, a lot more American companies have been jumping on the paid paternal leave bandwagon and finally offering their employees more paid time off after having a baby. This is great news for working parents in America – because, if you're a working parent, then you know that the struggle is very real. We'll take a look at how some companies in the U.S. are stepping up their paid paternal leave game, even if the country as a whole still lags behind the rest of the world.

The conversation about pay transparency has been buzzing recently after a couple of Google employees attempted to create online methods through which they and their co-workers could share their salaries with one another internally, in order to ensure that everyone was getting paid what they deserved. However, despite Google's assurance that employees are free to share their salaries with one another, it responded negatively to both attempts and argued that such online sharing methods threatened confidentiality and security.

It's impressive news. Two women – Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver – overcame seemingly overwhelming odds to pass the Army's Ranger School, at Fort Benning, Georgia. It's a daunting feat for any soldier, but for female soldiers, it's also a milestone: until this year, they weren't even allowed to attempt the leadership course.